Supreme Court upholds Anti-Terrorism Law

THE Philippine Supreme Court has affirmed the constitutionality of RA 11479, otherwise known as the ‘Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020,’ except for two provisions that proponents stressed would not affect the law’s effectivity against local terror groups and their supporters.

In a press statement last December 9, 2021, the highest court said the magistrates upheld the law’s constitutionality during their en banc session two days earlier, December 7, 2021.

With the result, the SC has thrown out some 37 petitions filed mostly by known front organizations and personalities from the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), who also immediately vowed to file a motion for reconsideration.

The SC statement added that voting ’12-3,’ the magistrates declared that the “qualifier” to the proviso under Section 4(e), which defines ‘terrorism’, was unconstitutional “for being broad and violative of freedom of expression.” The assailed provision reads:

“Section 4 (e) Release of’ dangerous substances, or causing fire, floods or explosion…

“…That, terrorism as defined in this section shall not include advocacy, protest, dissent, stoppage of work, industrial or mass action, and other similar exercises of civil and political rights, [which are not intended to cause death or serious physical harm to a person, to endanger a person’s life, or to create a serious risk to public safety].

With the ruling, the above italicized paragraph is now deemed excise from the full text of the law.

Voting 9-6, another provision the high court deemed unconstitutional is Paragraph 2 of Section 25, which reads:

“SEC. 25. Designation of Terrorist Individual, Groups of Persons, Organizations or Associations.

“Par. 2– Request for designations by other jurisdictions or supranational jurisdictions may be adopted by the ATC after determination that the proposed designee meets the criteria for designation of UNSCR No.1373.”
This segment is now also deemed excise from the law.

“On the basis of the current petitions, all the other challenged provisions of RA 11479 are not unconstitutional,” the Supreme Court declared.

Praises for the court ruling

Officials from the country’s national security cluster and the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), heaped lavish praises to the members of the Supreme Court for the decision, which was made public a day before the commemoration of ‘International Human Rights Day.’

Flosemer Chris Gonzales, Region 6 spokesperson of the NTF-ELCAC, pointed out that the excised provisions would not render the “spirit of the law ineffective.”

“The SC ruling will be remembered in the history of this great nation as the ruling that ramified the single piece of legislation that will usher in a new era of a just and lasting peace for the Filipino people,” Gonzales said.

“The declaration of the constitutionality of the ATA of 2020 will provide the government and the state security forces a solid basis to enforce the full force of the law against terrorists and all those who are supporting them,” he added.

NTF ELCAC spokesperson and presidential communications undersecretary, Lorraine Marie T. Badoy, said Filipinos should the Supreme Court a “rousing ovation and our profoundest, most heartfelt gratitude for finally giving to our people, in this historic case, a most decisive victory.”

“Of notable worth is that under this Law, incitement, financing or providing material support and even membership to terrorist organizations can now be considered crimes,” Badoy pointed out.

“And where before, recruitment into a terrorist organization wasn’t considered a crime, with this new law, anyone that tries to steal our children away from us will be locked away for life with no hope for parole,” she added.

In a separate statement, Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) secretary, Eduardo M. Año, who spent majority of his life in the Armed Forces dealing with the atrocities committed by the CPP and its armed wing, the New People’s Army and in going after their top leadership, said the decision “is a clear and convincing victory for all law-abiding and responsible citizens of the country.”

“Rest assured, we will be making the appropriate adjustments to conform to the decision of the Court and continue to implement the ATA law strictly as a means of protecting the Filipino people against any and all acts of terrorism,” he added.

“The High Court has left the law essentially intact specially the provisions that would allow the state to run after the perpetrators of terrorism in all its forms in our country,” Año noted.

“The Court’s decision upholds our most cherished freedoms and due process, while keeping the public safe and secure from the scourge of terrorism,” added DILG undersecretary and NTF- ELCAC spokesperson, Jonathan Malaya.

Malaya also averred the court ruling “vindicated” the government.

“We have repeatedly said that nowhere in the law does it give the State the license to suppress dissent and trample on our fundamental rights. This decision of the Supreme Court proves that point very clearly,” he said.